Afghanistan’s performance against England was as tantalising as they come, culminating in a 15-run defeat in Delhi on Wednesday (23 Mar).

Mohammad Nabi emerged as the highest impact player, and bowler, of the match. While he was under pressure with the bat and could only contribute to 10% of the chase, his impact with the ball was a lot higher – claiming two top/middle order wickets, stemming the flow of runs and putting England under pressure. Furthermore, he effected dismissals with his fielding too (including a catch and a run out). Nabi shared bowling impact with Rashid Khan, the second-highest impact bowler of the match, as the pair took three wickets between them to leave England reeling at 57/6 in the tenth over. They were also tied for the second-highest Economy Impact in the match, behind Liam Plunkett.

Shafiqullah’s late charge with the bat saw him finish as the highest impact batsman of the match, edging Moeen Ali’s effort in the process. Scoring at a fast pace ( Strike Rate Impact ), his pugnacious innings (20-ball-35) came under pressure and had Partnership-Building Impact too.

The performances of Shafiqullah and Nabi had higher impact because they came against a top-tier opposition.

David Willey was England’s highest impact player. Along with Ali, his big hitting gave England’s late flourish a timely impetus. His unbeaten 17-ball-20 came under pressure and played second fiddle to Ali’s 33-ball-41 as the pair put on 57 runs for the eighth wicket. Willey also had a big role to play with the ball, claiming two top/middle order wickets that built pressure and dented Afghanistan’s chase.

Based on each side’s performance, England had a 12% higher impact than Afghanistan. Eight Englishmen had a Match Impact of more than 1 (minimum impact for a performance to not be deemed as a failure). Afghanistan, in comparison, had seven such players. In the end, it was the ability of Moeen Ali and David Willey to bat under pressure that proved to be the real differentiator.